Swimming pools in Austin (Houston, San Antonio: HOA, how much, buying a house)

[kittymama]

When I look on realtor.com at houses in various Texas cities, I notice that Austin seems to have a lot less homes with pools than Fort Worth or San Antonio. Is there a reason why? Are there city ordinances against them? Though I noticed this to be the case in my price range in Round Rock and Pflugerville too. My parents live in Manchaca and they have a pool and so do a lot of their neighbors.

[higginszoo]

Being so close to the hill country, a lot of areas in Austin are built too close to the bedrock to make a pool easy to dig (sometimes as little as 3-6" of dirt over the rock). There's always the possibility of having a lot that has more clearance to the bedrock, but if you're looking into having to blast, it often makes the cost of putting a pool in much higher. We looked into this when we were buying in Austin (Cedar Park), and decided that buying a house 2 blocks from a community pool was much more cost-effective for us.

[TexasHorseLady]

What higginszoo says. Plus, we have a LOT of community pools (and there's always Barton Springs! And the lakes!).

There are areas (Manchaca is one - mostly more rural or originally-rural farming areas) where it's often easier to build a pool. Those would mostly be close to or east of IH35, where the land gradually changes from Austin Chalk to Houston Black.

[iceshots]

Yup.

Finding a house with a pool is a major chore. I was also surprised at the low percentage of houses with pools considering the heat and long summers. I think there is actually a higher percentage of pools in the Toronto area with its short summer than in Austin.

As THL and higgenzoo said, it is much easier to find a community with a pool that a house with a pool. However, if you are looking out in the country more, community pools are not always available in the smaller subdivisions.

Pools can be put in, and, if you believe the builder, you do not pay a lot more if they hit bedrock early. I am not sure how much I believe that statement. In hill country I see a lot of pools built into the hillside so that the pool is actually built more on the ground than into the ground.

In some areas I have heard that there are restrictions due to non-permeable coverage. Especially in the aquafier recharge zones.

If you are looking to buy a house with a pool, you can find one, but you will be restricting your purchase options severely. If you are buying and really need a pool, look for houses that have enough space for a pool, and talk to local pool builders about estimates. If in a master planned community, make sure the HOA is OK with a pool and that there is adequate access for the construction equipment.

Good Luck